


Going Home

by ladyhoneydarlinglove



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Fluff, M/M, kink meme fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-16
Updated: 2013-07-16
Packaged: 2017-12-20 08:13:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 655
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/885009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyhoneydarlinglove/pseuds/ladyhoneydarlinglove
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Written for the SNK kink meme. Prompt: some months after the battle, Jean works up the nerve to take Eren out around Trost as a belated thank you for saving his hometown.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Going Home

They stand in front of the remains of what used to be a building, but is now a large heap of rubble. Eren sees pieces of colorful fabric hidden amongst the debris, as well as the smashed bits of what must have once been china. Most of the shards are white, but on one large piece Eren sees a cherry blossom painted in small, delicate strokes. He thinks if the dishes were still intact they would be simple, but with a touch of elegance; like the china his mom kept tucked away in the cupboards, and never let Eren use because she was (rightly) afraid he would break something.

Behind him, Jean coughs, and Eren turns around. Jean's cheeks are flushed pink and he isn't looking at Eren. "Well, this _used_ to be a really nice cafe, but, um. It's obviously not... here anymore," he finishes lamely, and the flush on his cheeks deepens. It's the third restaurant Jean's tried to take Eren to that's been destroyed, and Eren is starting to wish he'd said no when Jean had offered to show him around the Trost district, just to save Jean the embarrassment.

"It... looks like it was nice," Eren says. "The dishes are uh, fancy." He gestures at a broken cup, and Jean groans.

"This was such a stupid idea," Jean grumbles, glaring at the ground. "I should have known everything would be gone."

"Not everything," Eren says, remembering the small bakery they passed earlier that was at least able to make bread. "Besides, you should be grateful that you can even have the luxury of going home."

Jean snorts. "My home is just another pile of rubble," he snaps. "How is being able to go back to it a luxury?"

Eren bristles. "Because at least you can go back to where it was!" he half-shouts. "There's still stuff there, underneath all the rubble! When we fled the Shiganshina district, we didn't have time to take anything with us, and now we can't even go back to see if anything can be salvaged! We lost everything, but you still have a place you'll be able to go back to, and a family, and—"

He breaks off with a frustrated groan, turning away from Jean to stare out at Trost. It's been damaged, but it's still _here_ , still capable of being rebuilt, not overrun with Titans, and Jean has the _audacity_ to complain about his home being gone? Eren feels anger bubble up his spine, and he opens his mouth to yell at Jean for being a selfish, thoughtless jerk. But that's as far as he gets, because Jean is besides him, taking his hand, and Eren is left gaping like an idiot.

"Hey," Jean says, still not looking at Eren. "You have a place to go back to too. Or have you finally come to your senses and given up your stupid dream of reconquering the Wall Maria?"

Eren feels his face flushing. "Of course I haven't given up," he says. "I'm going to reclaim the Wall Maria and kill all the Titans that invaded, no matter what it takes."

"Then stop complaining about not having a home to go back to," Jean says. "Because you do. Even if it might... take a little while to get there." He squeezes Eren's hand, and Eren feels his anger melt away, allowing an entirely different feeling to course up his spine, one that leaves him warm but also makes him shiver. "And I know your parents are gone, but you've still got Mikasa. And Armin, I guess. They're your family."

Eren feels his lips twitch. "Yeah," he agrees. "And I've got you."

Jean blinks, and finally looks at Eren. "I'm not family," he says.

"No, but you're... You know." Eren moves, pressing a kiss to Jean's lips. "That," he says, grinning when Jean sputters in indignation at the same time the grip on his hand tightens.


End file.
